Policy Resources

Crop of teenagers sitting outside, doing homework together. (Photo by Keira Burton from Pexels)

Policy Report

Losing Our Future: How Minority Youth are Being Left Behind by the Graduation Rate Crisis

This report, a joint release from AFC, the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University, the Urban Institute, and the Civil Society Institute, highlights the urgent need to address the impending crisis of minority groups not graduating from high school at troubling rates.

Mar 11, 2004

Policy Report

Denied At the Door: Language Barriers Block Immigrant Parents from School Involvement

This 2004 report by AFC and the New York Immigration Coalition addresses the lack of meaningful access afforded to parents with limited English proficiency to their children’s schools and the school system due to language differences.

Feb 19, 2004

Woman looks over the shoulder of a young girl filling out a worksheet. (Photo by Monstera Production via Pexels)

Policy Report

Serving Those Most In Need Or Not? A Report on the Implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB)’s Supplemental Education Services in New York City

This report examines the results of surveys that were conducted to assess the implementation and effectiveness of Supplemental Education Services (SES). These tutoring and remediation services were provided for the first time in 2002-03 to over 240,000 eligible children in schools “in need of improvement.” The results of the surveys show major problems with implementation of SES in New York City, especially for students with disabilities and those classified as English Language Learners.

Oct 1, 2003

Midsection of a student wearing a backpack and standing behind a wire fence. (Image by WOKANDAPIX on Pixabay)

Policy Report

Pushing Out At-Risk Students: An Analysis of High School Discharge Figures

This report by the Office of Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum and Advocates for Children of New York examines data documenting students in New York City who have been designated as “discharged” from the school system, an indicator that has received little public attention. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many of these discharges may have been forced “push-outs” of students who have a legal right to remain in public schools.

Nov 21, 2002

Four schoolboys (ages 8-9) huddling in classroom. (Photo by Cavan for Adobe, Adobe Stock)

Policy Report

Learning Together: Lessons in Inclusive Education in NYC

This report from the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Coalition, coordinated by AFC, examines a group of programs in NYC public schools that prove that integration of children with disabilities into general education classrooms is not only possible, but also desirable for children with many different types of disabilities and with differing needs.

Oct 1, 2002

Teenage girl sitting on the floor of a library, reading a book. (Photo by Ludovic Delot via Pexels)

Policy Report

Creating a Formula for Success: Why English Language Learner Students Are Dropping Out of School, and How to Increase Graduation Rates

This report, released jointly by AFC and the New York Immigration Coalition, analyzes the educational outcomes of English Language Learners (ELLs) since the implementation of new graduation standards. The report shows that the majority of children who have utilized bilingual or ESL programs with enough time and support have become proficient in English and have the highest rates of success on the new state tests. The report also shows that students currently enrolled in these programs – many of whom are very recent arrivals in the country or are students with interrupted formal education (SIFE) – fare the worst under the new standards, with more of them dropping out than graduating.

Jun 18, 2002

Elementary students sitting on a rug in a classroom. (Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik)

Policy Report

Still Waiting, After All These Years… Inclusion of Children with Special Needs in New York City Public Schools

This report from the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Coalition looks at the history of special education services in the New York City school system and at the differing views regarding how children with disabilities should be treated, i.e., via segregation or inclusion.

Nov 1, 2001

Teenager sits in a classroom doing schoolwork. (Photo by World Sikh Organization of Canada via Pexels)

Policy Report

Report from the Front Lines: What’s Needed to Make New York’s ESL and Bilingual Programs Succeed

This report by AFC and the New York Immigration Coalition focuses on one of the ingredients most fundamental for English Language Learners (ELLs): their teachers, and the resources they possess to teach ELLs. It also addresses the impact of new graduation and promotion standards for ELLs, the challenges teachers face, and steps the NYC public schools need to take to overcome these challenges.

Feb 7, 2001

Two boys lean over a picture book, one with a pen in hand. (Photo by Andrew Ebrahim via Unsplash)

Policy Report

Playing by the Rules When the System Doesn’t: Immigrant Families and Summer School in New York

This report, jointly released by AFC and the New York Immigration Coalition, discusses findings from surveys conducted during the summer of 2000 to assess the implementation and effectiveness of the Year 2000 Summer program, an integral part of the NYC Board of Education’s updated promotion policy.

Aug 25, 2000

Black and white photo of a young girl with her head resting on her arms.

Policy Report

Educational Neglect: The Delivery of Educational Services to Children in New York City’s Foster Care System

This report is based on the results of surveys of foster parents, case workers, educators, social workers, and children in the foster system. It finds that the main institutions in the lives of children in foster care fail to put into place the fundamental building blocks that could help them meet with educational success.

Jul 20, 2000

Call to Action to Sustain Education Programs Funded with Expiring Federal COVID-19 Relief

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